In a world filled with menace, dare to paint on a grin.
The world is full of images of scary clowns: packs of grinning figures with knives plaguing towns; pom-pom clad serial killers; loners who like children in the wrong way.
But clowns can be a force for good: it takes a kind heart to put other people’s joy first; keeping children entertained is honest work; what better disguise than one that makes the villains laugh?
What if, rather than being childhood-spoiling serial killers, clowns were the victims or heroes of the story?
When all the children at a party are poisoned, an entertainer’s profession and past both make him a prime suspect.
An anti-corporate prankster discovers his guru might be just as callous as the capitalist world-view he claims to reject.
A clown attempts to redeem the image of his profession by saving a group of teenagers from a serial killer.
And twelve more stories of clowns facing humanity’s baser natures.
(an anthology; features Andreas’s short story ‘Bingo’)
The one that really got to me was “Bingo” by Andreas Hort. Bingo the misfit who finally found his place in the world and held onto that dream no matter what.